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Saturday, March 23, 2013

Ghee whiz. Butter isn't bad.

We've been told for decades that butter is bad for you. But the right form of butter may be useful in relieving joint stiffness and
chronic pain.

Even with the backlash against margarine and other spreads that come from
factories, not from cows, a lot of people are still suspicious of all-natural
butter.

But the truth about butter – and especially a very specific kind of
butter – is really quite different.
Butter has been used as a staple food for thousands of years. And, clarified
butter (known by the kind of weird word 'ghee' [pronounced "gee" as in
"gee whiz"] in India where it got its origins) has been prized for its
health benefits for millennia.

We Were Duped into Believing Butter Is Bad for Us

But as America began expanding around the waistline and as heart
disease rates exploded in the 1960s and 70s, fat and cholesterol in our diet got
most of the blame.

Butter is basically pure fat. A tablespoon of butter contains 14 grams of fat,
including 8 grams of saturated fat. It also has 30 mg of cholesterol. So, under
the thought that fats, and particularly saturated fats, are bad for you, butter
became a taboo food for many.

What people didn't realize was that while heart disease had been going up, butter
consumption had been on the decline – people had been trading it in for
margarine. With the low-fat diet craze, butter consumption fell even further, and
the use of processed spreads like margarine rose even more. Heart disease,
diabetes, and obesity continued to climb right along with our intake of processed
foods.

Only recently have nutritionists and medical scientists come to realize that your
body needs fat – even saturated fat. That means you can enjoy real butter
– the great taste, the versatility – and get some great health
benefits, too.

The Real Skinny on Butter

Butter can play an important and healthful role in your diet
as long as you follow a few simple guidelines.

The best kind of butter to use is clarified butter, often called by its Indian
name, ghee. Ghee is made by melting butter over low heat to remove much of the
moisture. The melted mixture is then strained to remove caramelized milk solids.
You're left with a pure, rich buttery substance that is excellent for cooking.

Best Butter for Better Health

The main difference between ghee and straight butter is that
the impurities have been removed from ghee. You get all the health benefits
without the drawbacks. Despite being a high-fat food, ghee offers a number of
health benefits when you use it in moderation. Two tablespoons or less of ghee a
day can help to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, especially if the
balance of fats in your diet comes from plant sources – a fact that hasn't
been confirmed about regular butter.

Fats like butter and ghee are made of fatty acids, which get categorized as
short-chain, medium-chain, and long-chain. Stick with me – I'll show you why
this matters. Long-chain fatty acids tend to be the most damaging to your heart
health. Compared with butter, ghee contains a higher percentage of short- and
medium-chain fatty acids and a lower percentage of long-chain fatty acids, making
it more beneficial for your health.

Ghee also has one of the highest smoke points that you'll find in a fat, making it
ideal for cooking. Many fats begin smoking below 400 degrees, but ghee's smoke
point can be as high as 500 degrees. When an oil or fat reaches its smoke point,
heat damage occurs, and that can trigger the production of compounds that, when
you eat the food, will increase the level of free radicals in your body. By
cooking with ghee, you make healthier food that is less likely to cause the kind
of free radical damage associated with premature aging.

In Ayurvedic medicine, ghee is prescribed for people with joint stiffness and
chronic pain. Ghee helps to lubricate connective tissues, which can relieve pain
and promote flexibility.

Traditionally, ghee is prepared in India according to their own customs. But as
word has gotten out about the amazing health benefits of ghee, about its
versatility in cooking, and about its rich, pure flavor, it's grown in popularity.
Many companies around the world now produce and offer ghee, so you have a lot of
options. You can find ghee at your local health food store or you can even buy
high-quality butter and make you own.

However you get it, ghee is definitely worth adding to your daily diet. It's a
food that truly is good and good for you.